Australia Leading Economic Index

Last Release

Apr 30, 2025

Actual

Units In

-0.2

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Jun 26, 2025

Time to Release

1 Months 2 Days 15 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
0.76 Nov 2020	-1.74 Apr 2020	0 %	1960-2025	Westpac-Melbourne Institute

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index of Economic Activity combines a selection of economic variables that typically lead fluctuations in economic activity into a single measure that provides a reliable cyclical indicator for the Australian economy. The index includes the following components: S&P/ASX 200, dwelling approvals, US industrial production, RBA Commodity Prices Index (A$), aggregate monthly hours worked, Westpac-MI CSI expectations index, Westpac-MI Unemployment expectations index, yield spread (10Y bond – 90D bill). The index has a base value of 100 as of 1996.

Latest Updates

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Economic Index for Australia was unchanged in April 2025, following a 0.2% decline in the previous month. Meanwhile, the six-month annualized growth rate—which signals the likely pace of economic activity relative to trend over the next three to nine months—slipped to 0.2% from 0.5% in March. The latest data reflects growing uncertainty in global trade and a less supportive commodity price environment. While most of the drag stems from external factors, domestic conditions remain mixed, with slowing labour market momentum and only modest support from current interest rate settings, noted Matthew Hassan, Head of Australian Macro-Forecasting. Westpac projects GDP growth to reach 1.9% year-on-year by the end of 2025, still below historical norms. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank is expected to adopt a cautious, gradual approach to further easing in July, after cutting the cash rate by 25 basis points in May.